Columbia River Fishing Report: Coho, Steelhead, and More Amid Fall Weather Shifts

Artificial Lure here, coming to you from the banks of the mighty Columbia River around Portland with your narrative fishing report for Friday, November 14th, 2025. We woke up to a classic November morning: mist lingering over the water, chilly under partly cloudy skies, with rain in the forecast as we head deeper into fall. According to Tide-Forecast.com, today’s tidal swing at Vancouver shows a high tide at 1:10 a.m. at 1.92 feet, a low at 8:56 a.m. at 0.31 feet, and another strong high at 2:28 p.m. reaching 2.3 feet. These change-ups mean fish will be on the move, especially around the slack tides. Official sunrise is 7:09 a.m., with sunset coming early at 4:40 p.m. Recent action on the river has been decent, with some solid (but winding down) coho catches reported upstream of Westport, and an uptick in steelhead bites as we march into cooler weather. The Guide’s Forecast notes the mainstem Columbia is closed to salmon above West Puget Island, but many anglers have been taking their rods to the tributaries—and there’s still coho chaos upstream and in select metro zones. Fishable numbers remain, even if not what we saw last year. Down in the sloughs, sturgeon activity is picking up as temps drop. Most keepers are still out deep, but don’t be afraid to work those back eddies near Sauvie Island or Kelly Point this time of year. Anglers willing to brave chilly mornings are finding success with sand shrimp and nightcrawlers. Walleye are also present, mainly at the mouth of Multnomah Channel, hitting on deep-diving crankbaits—orange and silver, especially at daybreak. Bass action has slowed as water temps cool, but some persistence around rocky banks in the Willamette and lower Columbia is producing bites on smaller plastics like 4-inch Senkos and tubes fished slow. Warmer afternoons could get them moving shallow. For coho and steelhead, top lures now are Brad’s Wigglers, Mag Lips, and spinners—#3 to #5 blue/silver or chartreuse. If you’re float fishing, a pink worm below a small jig tipped with shrimp is hot in higher water. Bait casting? Try fresh sand shrimp or eggs dusted in anise and krill oil, especially right after a rain. Crabbing remains open in estuaries and off the main river and is reporting excellent quality—shells are hard and the crabs are full of meat according to the ODFW recreation report. Check the shellfish closures before heading out. The occasional stray Chinese mitten crab (an invasive species) has been spotted, so report those if you catch one. Hot spots today include: - **Kelly Point Park**: good for sturgeon and rain-dependent salmonids early. - **Sauvie Island boat ramp**: lots of deep holes and good for late coho, steelhead, and even walleye. - **Mouth of Multnomah Channel**: active for walleye, and the fall bass bite. - **Government Island sloughs**: still holding some keepers and has been consistent for crabbing as well. All told, fish activity is fair to good with species mix including coho, steelhead, sturgeon, This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.